Dream Reality
by RenTin
Summary: Spike is back, but not quite himself. He thinks if he gets back into his old routine things will be all right. But something is off. Spike makes up his mind to figure out just what that 'something' is. R&R if you will
1. Ch 1

**A/N**: This is just a little something that came to me early one morning. My muse is an ass like that. He just shows up whenever he wants to and then leaves without warning. Anyway, there's not really much I can say about all of this. I think it speaks for itself. I'm hoping to write more, but again, it's up to my muse. Of course this is after the last episode of Bebop. **SPOILER SPOILER for those who haven't seen it or don't know (like that's anybody! lol) Just a warning.>>>> **I do believe Spike dies in the last episode. But this idea just, well, it just came out. I don't really know where it's going yet, but we'll see.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing in relation to Cowboy Bebop. I just took the characters and places and made myself a little fic. I wish I did own Spike, but, alas, I do not.

* * *

"What do you want Jet?" Spike looked at his partner's shadow on the wall not really turning to the man himself.

"I thought maybe you'd like to hear about a big bounty. Ed linked up and got a lead on a man who's hiding on Earth. 80 million woolongs ain't so bad. But if you're not up to it..."

Spike tuned slowly, head down. "Earth huh? I never really liked that place. But if it's where the bounty is then it's where I'm supposed to be." He never met Jet's eyes. He hadn't really met his eyes since he had been back. Since he had found out that he was still alive. Since that fateful day he woke up in a hospital only to find his friend sleeping in a chair by the bed.

At first he thought he was dreaming. But when the figure snored loudly, he realized that he wasn't in a dream. He was never in a dream. No, he had been awake the whole time. It was his awakened self that thought it was all a dream, not his sleeping mind.

But here he was, back to business. Nothing had changed, yet nothing was the same. He felt a guilt so deep within him that it took all he had just to talk to the man he had called friend for those years he was biding time. Those years he was waiting, waiting for his chance to see if he was alive.

He grabbed his gun and walked to the main port, plopping down on the yellow couch. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up hoping to fill the void. What void he didn't quite know or even understand why it was there. It was as if something just wasn't right, but smoking that cigarette would make everything better. It would make everything normal.

He laughed at the thought. Normal. What was normal anyway? He had certainly never thought of himself as normal before, so why was he trying so hard to find a state of it now? Why was he willing himself to work as if he had forgotten how to breathe?

With each puff the orange glow at the end of the stick got brighter and brighter. Spike focused on it with all he had. Focused on it so hard that he had to close his eyes because it was blinding him. When he opened them again he found himself staring into the sun. The sun? When had he come outside? And for that matter, when had they arrived on Earth?

Things like that had been happening a lot lately. He would lose spots of time. At first he thought it was something to do with a head injury he might have incurred on his last inquisition, but then that thought faded when the doctor gave him a clean bill of health for a _second_ time. It had worried him enough to go back to a doctor. He hated them, but they seemed to be the only ones that could give him straight answers these days. Go figure, a man born to talk jargon and mislead was the only person he found the truth in.

What had happened to the world? He ran a hand over his face letting it linger for a moment feeling the heat. Yep, there was definite heat, so that meant his blood was still pumping. So, why did he feel like he wasn't really alive? I mean now he _knew_ he was alive, but why couldn't he _feel_ it?

He shoved another cigarette in his mouth and pushed the thoughts away. All he was getting was a major tension headache. It reminded him too well of the headaches Faye used to give him. They had become normal, which wasn't normal. He had almost woken up everyday taking a couple of aspirin because he knew that he would have one before the day was out.

He smiled ruefully. That won't be happening anymore. At least not those Faye headaches. No, she wasn't with the Bebop anymore. Upon returning one of the first faces he had expected to see was hers. He had braced himself for the berating he knew was coming. But as they entered the shell of the ship, there was nothing but silence.

He remembered turning to Jet, and getting an answer to his unspoken words and questioning eyes. "She's gone. Left right after you. Right after she shot up my ship. That's just like her to leave when the damage is done. Like a damn tornado."

When thinking back on Jet's words Spike wondered why that explanation hadn't been enough for him. Why did he feel the need to find her? He knew he was only looking for trouble, but still. It was there, deep inside him; it was there. He found himself wondering about her, wondering if she even knew he was alive.

He remembered their last encounter all too well. Looking back on it he can see how it might have sounded like an infinite goodbye, but the Fates didn't see it that way. No, they didn't want him to say goodbye just yet. And quite frankly now, things just didn't seem so... _final_. He breathed in deep taking in the smells of Earth. Again he rubbed his face, but this time trying to ward off the icky feeling he got. 'I really do hate this place.'

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**A/A/N**: I know, I know, really short. Hopefully there will be more. Depends on my muse and the reviews, I guess. If you like, don't like, review. I'll take whatever. Until later ;) 


	2. Ch 2

**A/N: **All righty! Here's another chap. It's not much, but it's something. My muse decided to be nice. I still really have no idea where this is going. It's just coming to as it wants to. So hope it's all right.

**Thank you to**: llioncourt30 and kaimi yu ki for your reviews. They are much appreciated.

**DISCLAIMER: **(sniffles) I still **don't own anything** dealing with Cowboy Bebop. Tis sad, but true.

* * *

Spike didn't wait for Jet to give him any more information. He got in his Swordfish and took off, much to Jet's disappointment.

"Hey, Spike, you could have waited. Ed hasn't even finished sending me all the info yet."

Spike's stomach growled. He looked at it and patted it as if that would make it feel better. "Well, I'm gonna grab some food then. Just send me the info when you get it." He groaned as his stomach rumbled again.

Finding what he thought to be a suitable place, he landed and went inside. The sign said, "Bounty- full," so it couldn't be all that bad he figured. And who knows maybe he could pick up some info while he was in the place.

He climbed up on a bar stool and slumped down. The big burly man behind the bar walked over.

"What can I do yer for?" His accent was southern. And Spike thought it odd but he answered all the same.

"What's the specials here?" The man laughed heartily.

"Specials? We ain't got no specials. If yer wantin some eggs, hash browns, and bacon, I can get ya some. But I don't know how special they are." Spike lifted a hand to his face and covered his eyes, leaning into his hand.

He sighed and on cue his stomach grumbled again. His fingers spread apart just enough for him to eye the man with one eye. "That'll do. How about a Screwdriver to go with it. Breakfast of champions I always say."

The man raised one of his greasy eyebrows. "You sure you should be drinking this early. They say, a man wakes up with a drink in his hand and he ends up drowning the rest of the day." Spike rested his elbows on the bar and propped his chin on his upturned palms.

He turned his head to the side and smiled. It was more of a smirk than a smile really. "Well, then it looks I've been drowning for years." The man put the cloth he was using to dry off the glasses down and began to pour Spike's drink.

Once the glass was set in front of him, he quickly reached for it and gulped half of its contents down. He made a refreshed sound and set the glass back down. "Saving the other half to go with the meal." He was satisfied with that. These days it seemed anything with alcohol in it satisfied him.

It wasn't long until his food was ready. As he was eating it the thought that it really wasn't all that special passed through his mind. The eggs were undercooked, the bacon was mainly fat, and the hash browns... well he didn't rightly know what a hash brown was, but it didn't look good so he didn't touch it. These Earthlings and their weird foods.

The man continued to keep an eye on Spike. If he wasn't so damn hungry he might have cared. He finished his food, and just sat there staring at the orangy liquid, swirling in his glass. He kept tilting the glass in a circular motion to keep the liquid moving. Faster and faster, it created a vortex. He just stared into it. He just sat there mesmerized by it; it had hypnotized him.

"Excuse me, did you need something?" No answer. "I said excuse me!" Spike looked across the table at the raised voice. It was a woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Nothing really extraordinary about her. She seemed plain. And her facial expression was an upset one.

"What was that?" This woman looked at Spike as if he had lost his mind. Maybe he had. When did he sit down at a table anyway. Meh, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind for later.

"I asked you if you needed something. You just came over and sat down without a word. Are you all right?" She leaned into the table to come a little closer to Spike. "You don't look so good."

Spike waved her off. "I'm fine. I just thought I'd say hello. You must have reminded me of someone I used to know." Well that was a lie if he ever told one. "I'm sorry I bothered you." He went to rise, but stopped midway. A thought formed in his head. 'It wouldn't hurt to ask.'

Spike took his seat again, propping his elbows on the table. He smiled at the confused woman. "Perhaps you can help me. Do you know anything about bounty hunting?" He thought the question was silly, and that she probably didn't know the first thing about it, but something made him ask.

"Of course I do. You are in a bounty hunter's bar. Or did you not notice the sign?" He was caught off guard at her change in tone. "Why do you ask anyway? Are you a bounty hunter?"

Spike sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was just about to ask you the same question." His small smile never left his face as he watched the woman giggle a bit.

"Please, I don't have the, shall we say, knack for bounty hunting. But I know a thing or two about it. Now, you answer my question." Spike picked up his glass and began to swirl the liquid in it again.

"Well, I suppose I am. And I'm here searching for a big bounty head." Before he could say anything else, she cut him off.

"You must mean Ryker Nixon. I believe his is an 80 million woolong bounty." Spike's seemingly controlled self faltered when he dropped the glass spilling the rest of its contents.

He quickly took a napkin from the middle of the table and laid it over the liquid. He watched it soak into the napkin forming the shape of a cloud. The woman cleared her throat causing him to look up at her.

"So, I guess you do know a thing or two. You wouldn't happen to know where I might could find this Nixon guy now would you?" The woman giggled again, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Now, how would I know where a thief hangs out." Spike shook his head. He thought as much. He was about to put a couple of woolongs on the table when she stopped his hand.

"Nu-uh cowboy, this one's on me. Sorry I couldn't help more." Spike smiled at her kindness thinking that it was rare for people to be kind anymore. He turned and waved a hand at her. "Uh you want to know how I know about bounty hunting? It's because of a friend of mine. She's a bounty hunter like yourself. She might could help you."

Spike new that for 80 million woolongs no other bounty hunter would be willing to give up any info or split the reward; he sure as hell wouldn't. But then a thought crossed his mind. 'She did say _she_. It could be... nah, that's impossible. There's a million to one chance that it'd be her. But still..." He turned back to this stranger feeling compelled to ask her. "All right. Where might I find this friend of yours?"

The woman smiled. "You can find her at Luke's. She's there most of the time. She works there when she's not bounty hunting. Just look for the only woman behind the bar." Spike nodded his head and said his thanks and walked out.

While walking back to his star ship he knew he was forgetting something. Then when he sat down in the leather seat it hit him. "Where the hell is Luke's?"

* * *

**A/A/N**: Not really all that great to me, but it's still on my ok list. If you like, don't like, review please. Orion says that the more reviews I get the more appearances he will make so I can keep writing. I can't remember when I became so dependent on him. Stupid muse! (clamps hand over mouth and looks at Orion) I didn't mean it... honest. Heh, I love you, really! (wipes brow) Phew that was a close one. Well until next time ;)  


	3. Ch 3

A/N: Eh-so, here's another Chap. Yeah yeah I know it's short. But it's just what came out. So no fussing. Well, ok,fuss away, just do it to Orion, cause he's in charge.

**Thank you to: **

lydrel (Sorry you're confused. If it helps, I don't really know either and I'm writing it.> ),

amethyst-tears (Heh, and the answer to your question is...-drum role please-lol It sort of gets figured out here.),

kaimi yu ki (I sent your message to Orion. He wasn't pleased with me. I wish I could just get a new one. But I've been through six all ready and I promised that Orion was going to stick around for a whlie. lol So I can't ditch him... -leans in towards screen and whispers- at least not yet!!! lol),

arandomreader(I find it odd that it took me a while to cach onto the name. a random reader.Man I'm dense sometimes! lolButglad you liked it.)

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!

**DISCLAIMER:**

RenTin: So, I'm gonna ask again, justbecause I like to irritate you.

Orion: -sighs- NOREN!!! You still don't ownanything Cowboy Bebop.

RenTin: Well you're good atshape shifting. How bout you whipme upsomeSpike?! -looks hopeful-

Orion: What do I look like? An easy bake oven?-mutters- 'how bout you whip me up some Spike?' Psssh NO!

RenTin:-pokes lip out- But, but, I'd bevery grateful.

Orion: -raises eyebrow- How grateful? Like would you do anything?

RenTin: -nods headeagerly-

Orion: -turns into Spike-So is this what you wanted?

RenTin: -drools, while shaking head and reaching out to touch-

Orion: -knocks hand away- Remember you said you'd do anything.

RenTin: Uhhuh

Orion: -winks- Good! NOW GET ON WITH THE WRITING ALL READY!!!

RenTin: -frowns and starts typing like a maniac-

* * *

**Last time...**

While walking back to his star ship he knew he was forgetting something. Then when he sat down in the leather seat it hit him. "Where the hell is Luke's?"

* * *

Jet's voice came over the com breaking Spike's thoughts. "Hey Spike, Ed finally got me the info. It looks like this guy was working undercover as a cop and got in too deep. He stole some important research notes from a lab hoping to get a big pay off. Looks like he got too greedy."

"Yeah well what kind of operation was it?" A cop turning bad peeked his curiosity.

"It doesn't say. It was classified, but whatever it was it made him crazy enough to turn criminal. And whatever was in those documents he stole, is worth 80 million woolongs. So I don't really care what operation he was in. He's just another bounty head, only in a nicer package."

Spike sighed. "So, where can we find him?" Silence was heard followed by a screeching noise and shuffling. "Jet?" Still shuffling and rumbling. "Hey, Jet, what the hell is going on?" Spike screamed into the com.

A familiar voice broke through the air waves. "Weeeeeeeee, Spike person, is it really you? Jet person said that Spike person was alive and well." A bark was heard. "Ein says good good. Hee!"

Spike shook his head and smiled at the voice of the girl. Finally Jet could be heard in the background. "Ed, I said hold on. I need to finish giving him the info. Now go play chess or whatever it is you do. AND take that dog with you!"

Spike made a low whistle. "Someone's in a bad mood." Jet's grumpy voice boomed through the speaker.

"NOW! As I was saying. Damn that kid and her energy." Spike laughed.

"Well, Jet you could always sell her. When did she get back anyway?"

"About ten minutes after you took off. It's like she was waiting for us to land. I mentioned something about you getting the bounty and she started screaming and running towards the com and well, you know the rest." There was silence. It was a purposeful silence. Neither one talked because there was nothing to say about the matter. The wacky girl had missed them and come back and that was that.

'Now it's almost normal again.' Spike shook his head at the thought and got back to business. "So, Jet any leads on where I can find this guy?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that. Can't say where he is. Looks like we'll have to hit the streets. Uh hey, did you find anything out while you were filling your stomach?" Spike's thoughts went back to what the woman had said.

"I think I might have a lead. We'll see where it takes me."

"Whatever you say partner. I'm gonna take off and look for some clues too." The com went silent. Jet expected Spike to say something, so he waited.

"Oh, hey Jet?" Jet smiled. He knew his friend too well.

"Yeah Spike?"

"Where's Luke's?" Jet scratched his head with his mechanical arm.

"Luke's huh? Hmmm." Spike rolled his eyes sighing. 'He doesn't know.'

"I don't know Spike, but hang on." Jet walked away from the com. "Hey, Ed?" There was a commotion just outside the room. "Ed, what are you..." his question slipped away as Ed came cartwheeling in the door and rammed into him.

"Woohoo! Weeeee! That was fun Jet person, Ed wants to do it again! Hee!" Jet groaned and eased himself up looking at the bouncing girl. He shook his head.

"Ed, Spike needs to find the location of a place called Luke's. Can you do that?" Ed spun around with a huge grin plastered on her face. It was unnatural, freaky even.

"Of course. Ed is the master! Ed can do all." With that she skipped over to the computer and plugged into it. She was watching as her little fishies began to search. Typing and swaying to the little tune that was playing in her head. The little tune that only she could hear.

Jet just waited as did Spike. He was flying around now. There was really no use in going back into the bar and asking that woman for directions. He had all ready made himself look like an ass, so he figured he'd leave it on that high note and just find out some other way.

But the other way was becoming quite a nuisance. "Hey, Jet, is this going to take all day?" Spike was becoming impatient.

"Hey, Ed, you get anything?" Jet looked at the computer screen over Ed's shoulder. Just then she stretched herself out, hitting Jet in the face with the back of her arm. Jet groaned. Ed leaned over backwards to get a better look at him.

"Jet got a baddy. He should know it's not nice to stare over Ed's shoulder when Ed is fishing." She emphasized the 'ing' and turned completely around to face him, but not before punching a button on computer.

"There, there now, all done! Spike person directions have been sent." Spike looked at his screen. He as in luck. The direction he was heading was the right one. So he continued on his course.

"Thanks Ed. Oh and Jet, be careful. Earth is a pretty dangerous place." Spike could hear Jet mumbling and smiled. "Luke's here I come." Spike pushed the petal to the floor. A sudden need filled him. An urge and eagerness to get to Luke's as fast as he could.

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**A/A/N**: Mmk, so that's it. Review please. They're are much appreciated! As always, until later ;p 


	4. Ch 4

**A/N: **Okies, here goes another one. I like this one. Hehe! But some may not. I'd like to know either way please. This one is a little out there, but still it's gonna tie in with the rest of the story. So any questions are welcome.

**THANKS: **Just like to give big THANK YOU to everyone who is reviewing. I've been trying to respond by email, so if I haven'tgotten to you,I apologize. Some of you I don't know you're email. But I thank you too! LOLYour reviews are great! I love getting them.

**DISCLAIMER: **

Ren: Finally! It seems it's been forever.

Orion: It's only been a couple of days.

Ren: How would you know? You're never around.

Orion: (glares)

Ren: Sheesh, ok, ok, I know. We've had this written for like a week now. But the sites been down. I can't help that.

Orion: BAH! Let's just skip the chatter. You **DO NOT OWN **anything from Cowboy Bebop.

Ren: I think we all know that by now. Don't you?

Orion: (sighs) Yes I think we all know, but still, wouldn't want anyone to come up and sue you or anything. Then what would I do if you get hauled off?

Ren: Awe you'd miss me?

Orion: (blushes and turns head away) Perhaps. Now let's just do this.

Ren: (smiles) All righty.

* * *

**Last time:**

"Thanks Ed. Oh and Jet, be careful. Earth is a pretty dangerous place." Spike could hear Jet mumbling and smiled. "Luke's here I come." Spike pushed the petal to the floor. A sudden need filled him. An urge and eagerness to get to Luke's as fast as he could.

* * *

Luke's turned out to be a pool hall. When Spike had entered the place, smoke wafted around him. His first thought was that the place was on fire. But with closer inspection, he realized that there wasn't a person in the room that didn't have a cigar or cigarette in their mouth or one sitting abandoned in a tray.

He had been at the bar for about twenty minutes now, but no woman appeared, only a man wearing a hot pink shirt that hurt eyes.

When Spike had first sat down he had asked for the woman, but the only reply he got was that she'd be in, in about ten minutes. 'Late as usual,' he perused.

He didn't know what it was, but every instinct he had was telling him that it was Faye. 'It just has to be.' Of course that could also be the reason he felt so strongly about it being her. He had been saying that same phrase over and over again for the past half hour.

He was sipping idly on his scotch when a voice could be heard over every noise going on in the place.

"Get your hand off of me you jerk, or I'll remove it for you... permanently!" It was screamed with a vigor and a harshness that showed every word was meant and the action would be followed out if the charge wasn't obeyed.

Spike looked to the voice, just like the rest of the people in the room. Mouths were hanging open, pool games and conversation forgotten. No, every eye and ear was on this woman.

After initial shock wore off, a low whistle could be heard from the crowd standing at the pool table behind Spike. It was followed by hushed chattering.

"Looks like Val's in a bad mood."... "Yeah, I've never seen her get that angry before."... "The guy she was seeing probably dropped her."... "Val was seeing someone?"... "Well, she had to of been. Slipping off all discreet like. She hardly ever stays in her apartment."... "Yeah but you know her. She likes to move around a lot."

Without even noticing, the woman called Val, had walked up and amongst the men who were talking about her. "So, boys, you really find my life all that interesting?" She eased closer to the man that was standing to her right.

Once her body made contact with his, she slyly ran her fingers over the opening of his jacket. And before he had time to get his bearings, she had easily slipped his wallet out. It was now in her possession as she stepped away from the shocked man.

She winked and took her place behind the bar. 'God, some men are just so easy.' She smiled as she thought about the woolongs just waiting for her in that wallet.

Spike had watched the whole thing. From the moment she had screamed to the moment she had nicked that guys wallet. 'So like her. She'll never change.' He had just been sitting there minding his scotch and there she was.

"Can I top that for you?" Spike froze when she spoke to him, but it didn't last long. He had his head tilted down, so she couldn't really see him. Although if she knew him at all, she'd know it was him.

He decided to just treat it as a coincidence. So slowly he lifted his gaze and glass at the same time. "Sure, if you think you can." A firm smirk was placed on his lips.

"Well, I can top your drink for you no problem. But as for other things, I don't honestly think a man like you has what it takes to keep up with me." With that, she simply refilled his glass and walked off.

At first Spike thought she must have been angry with him. But then that thought vanished. He knew Faye. He knew what she was like. If she was angry, she sure as hell would let him know.

Then he thought, 'well, maybe she didn't recognize me.' But that thought quickly vanished as well. Of course she would. It's not that he was the type of person to stand out, just the type you wouldn't forget.

Spike would like to think he made an impression on the people he had met. 'Wait a minute. Since when do I care about stuff like that?' That thought faded as a searing pain shot through his head and behind his eyes.

He clenched them shut, grabbing his head. It was excruciating. His teeth grinded together. If he had bit down any harder he could have sworn that they would have shattered.

'What's happening to me?' His mind was screaming in pain. It was like hearing nails scrape down the side of some new shiny metal. Only intensified to the point of the capability to burst eardrums.

The tighter he squeezed his eyes shut the more colors he saw. It was a rainbow spectrum, swirling, making shapes. It took a few seconds for it to sink in, but the shapes weren't just random. No, they were of things in his life. Things he had come across, people, planets, buildings.

He didn't know how to handle it all. No one seemed to realize his distress. He couldn't hear anything anymore, only the jumbled murmurings in his head.

Then all at once it all stopped. Everything. No more colored images, no more murmuring. Everything was black, blank, and empty.

"What the hell is going on?" Spike found his voice, but it seemed distant even to him. It really didn't sound like him at all.

His vision was blurred, but the more he blinked the more it cleared. So he just kept blinking. And as his vision returned, so did the noises around him.

He could hear traffic. Vehicles zooming by leaving a gust of wind in their wake. He ventured to speak again. "What the hell just happened?"

This time he got an answer. "I'm beginning to wonder that myself. You asked me out here, saying you had something to tell me. Some sort of information. You said it'd be worth my wile. I'm beginning to think that you're just another pervert wanting to get his hands on me. So, do you have any info for me or what? I don't like just standing idly on the sidewalk. Plus I have to work to make money."

Spike looked at the figure the voice had come from. It was Faye. And they were standing outside of Luke's.

Spike became dizzy. He fell backwards against the brick wall of the building. He rubbed his face with his hands.

"I don't understand. I was talking to you? How did I get out here? I thought I had blacked out." He looked at Faye. She didn't seem to sympathize with him.

"Look, I don't know what your game is pal, but you better start playing by the rules. If you don't have anything to say to me, then you've wasted my time. And as it is, I don't have much of it to waste. Especially on the likes of you." She huffed and crossed her arms, preparing to storm back into the building.

Just as she was about to enter, Spike grabbed her elbow. "Wait, Faye. Please, something is... is... wrong with me." The woman wrenched her arm from his grasp.

"You got that right pal. Something is definitely wrong with you. And the name's Val, by the way. Not, Faye. I don't know a Faye." She didn't see his expression of utter shock as she turned and walked back into Luke's.

Spike just stood there against the wall. "Not, Faye? I don't understand this. What the hell is going on with me?" He looked at the door and contemplated going back in, but when he reached for it, his arm fell back to rest at his side.

His whole body ached. It was a dull ache. One that was all to familiar to him. "I need to find out what the hell is going on with me. Looks like it's back to the doc I go." Spike's body shook with disgust, but it seemed to be the only solution.

There was just something entirely wrong with him. Something that was causing him to question his every move. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. What was real? What wasn't? He couldn't distinguish between the two.

"That really wasn't Faye?" He looked at the door one more time and got a glance of the woman called Val again. Her back was to him.

"Long hair. Faye doesn't have long hair." With that last chide, he turned to go back to the Swordfish and back to Bebop.

"Had I wanted to see her that much, that I would just make up seeing her, even if she wasn't there? And those images, the words, what were they?" He sighed heavily, becoming quite tired of all these new unanswered questions.

Hands pushed into his pockets, seemingly deep in thought, he trudged forward. All thoughts of the bounty head forgotten.

Just as he was about to reach the top of the hill where his ship was, a statuesque figure bumped into him. Or did he bump into it?

Spike was content to just keep walking, but he felt the figure stop, so he turned around. When he was faced with the back of the stranger, he became agitated. He didn't really know why.

"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going! I'm trying to walk here!" Spike didn't realize his voice was so raised. But with previous thoughts broken, he just snapped.

The figure slowly turned with his head down, as a deep, raspy, voice spilled from his windpipes. "What do you see? Still the past? Or could it be the future? The future you are not meant to have?" The voice turned into laughter, deviant laughter. "The present is hidden from your view. So tell me..." The figure slowly lifted his head. "Spike Spiegel. Which are you seeing right now?"

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**A/A/N: **Hmmm, I like how I ended this. Meh, let me know. I love reviews, good, bad, ugly. OK so maybe not ugly, but any review is welcome. 


	5. Ch 5

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING of BEBOP,only the delusions that from here on out commence...

**IT'S BEEN A WHILE, BUT THANK YOU TO THE REVIEWERS! I DO APPRECIATE THEM EVEN THOUGH I DON'T DESERVE THEM.**

A/N: hides in a corner I know, it's hard to believe I'm not dead. I justkind of lost interest in this story. But then out of the blue, my muse decided it'd be best to start writing on it again. AND AS A WARNING>>>> Those of you who were confused before, will most likely stay that way. BUT that can't be helped. I mean, if you actually have certain questions, let me know in your review and I'll clear up what I can. But this chapter is getting closer to the truth... which will be revealed pretty soon I think. Anyway, enough delaying...

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Spike shot up, sweat drenching him with a sheen of moisture. The room was dark, save one beam of light that peered through a hole in the wall to his left. As his pupils adjusted to the darkness he got up and began to feel his way around the room.

"Where am I?"

Spike made his way to the light. He found upon further inspection, the hole was big enough to fit his hand through. He couldn't make out anything on the other side of it though.

"Something's weird about this room."

Spike had made a round feeling along each of the four walls.

"There's no door."

The initial thought panicked him and he began to bang loudly on one of the walls.

"Hey, let me out of here. What the hell is going on? Where am I?"

When he got no answer he made his way back to where the light was coming from. It was a bright yellow light, but not warm like the sun.

So he came to the conclusion he was in some sort of building. He could hear voices coming from outside of the room. They seemed distant and if you could see a voice it would have been foggy. The words couldn't be distinguished, even though they were slow and drawn out.

He squinted his eyes looking through the hole. But still he couldn't make anything out, just a bright light.

He brought his head back and leaned against the wall.

"Where the hell am I? I don't remember anything. Why can't I remember?"

With each thought, he became more frustrated. And the more frustrated he became the more he inched his body down the wall into until finally he was sitting.

Head in his hands he tried to listen to the voices. He tried to distinguish what they were saying.

"Hey, I can hear you, ya know?"

He sighed when they just kept mumbling.

"I could really go for a smoke."

He laughed and turned sideways lying down on the floor instead of going back over to the bed, if it was even a bed. It could have been just an old cot for all he knew.

He laid an arm over his face and let the other stretch out from his body. He ran it along the wooden surface of the floor. Unconsciously he started to grip at something.

An oblong structure protruding from the floor. His fingers wrapped around it awkwardly. It was cold. Metal. Then it dawned on him.

Spike shot up to his side and squirmed closer to where his hand held the smooth object that seemed to be glued to the floor.

"What the hell is this? No, it can't be. Is this..."

He pulled on the metal and sure enough...

"It's the door?"

Spike pulled until he was standing and let the hatch fall open. He peered down into an even more dark room, if that was possible. He felt the edge for a ladder of some sort and sure enough there was one leading the a lower level room. He began his decent.

"Why the hell would they put a door in the floor. It's as if I'm in some sort of attic."

Spike shivered involuntarily remembering the last time something like this happened. It involved, a crab and a mutant space creature.

"That was the last time I ever even thought about crab."

He stumbled as his foot slipped off the bottom of the of the ladder. His arms flailed about in circles as he tried to balance himself back out before he went flying backwards. But as luck would have it, it didn't help.

Spike groaned as he lay there with his eyes closed. He cracked one eye open and his mouth gaped at what he saw.

"What the...?"

He rubbed his face and squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

"That can't be there."

His breathing had started to quicken and he found that soon he was short of breath. He closed his eyes again, chanting in his head.

"That's not real. This isn't real. When I open my eyes it won't be there. It can't be there. It's impossible. It's not real. It's not real. Spike get a grip. Someone is just trying to mess with your head."

He warily began to ease open his eyes. They widened at the realization that what he was seeing was in fact there. He reached out as if trying to touch the thing. But he couldn't reach it. It was suspended in the air above him. They all were.

The Bebop, a little to his left. The Hammerhead next to it. The Red Tail to the right a little. And his Swordfish II right in the center. It was there hanging above his head. They were all there. But something was odd about them. They all seemed miniature. It was as if they were models of the original ships.

"Who would have models of our starships? More importantly why would anyone want them?"

Spike sat up and slowly stood. He looked back up at the suspended figures. That's when it dawned on him that he could actually see them. He could see them! There was light in the room!

He quickly let his eyes scan the rest of the room. There were lighting fixtures free standing in the room. To his left he noticed a sidewalk.

'A sidewalk? What the hell?'

Spike walked over to it. There was a lamp, but it wasn't working. He reached out to touch it, but it felt like cardboard. And his feet sank into whatever the sidewalk was made of.

"This seems familiar to me."

He looked around some more and noticed a wall that seemed to be a painting of a scene from outdoors. He walked away from it and further down the crunchy substance he had deduced as styrofoam.

Images were slowly coming back to him. The bar, Val, the statue he had run into on the sidewalk, the voice that belonged to it. Spike stopped dead in his tracks.

"Wait! The sidewalk. The lamp."

He quickly spun around and looked back at where he had been standing. It was an exact replica. The painted wall, everything was the same.

Spike grabbed his head as a wave of confusion hit him. He was dizzy and his vision was blurring again. He was backing up little by little until he bumped into something almost causing it to fall over along with himself.

But he managed to stay on his feet. When he turned around he immediately felt sick. When his eyes focused, he realized they were peering through a window. But not just any window. He was looking into Luke's. Only Luke's wasn't there. There was just another dark room behind the wall. Fed up with it all, Spike screamed at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

With that last yell, he fainted.

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A/A/N: DUN DUN DUN... what the hell IS going on? Bwa ha ha ha he seems to faint a lot. Um, review, complain, do whatever ya want. Sorry it's so short. But at least it's something. >. Later later ;p 


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